Recovering from Tommy John surgery, Chris Olivier was not able to pitch the past two years when Delgado was eliminated in the National Junior College Athletic Association South Central district championship.
His availability could be the difference this weekend as the 11th-ranked Dolphins (42-11) try to scratch a seven-year itch.
“We’re definitely going to the World Series,” said Olivier, a Lakeshore product. “I have all the confidence in the world with this team and what we’re capable of. We’re mentally and physically prepared for anything that comes our way.”
Delgado has made it to Grand Junction, Colorado, four times under veteran coach Joe Scheuermann but has not reached the pinnacle of junior-college baseball since the last of three consecutive appearances from 2014-16. The stumbling block the past two seasons has been Crowder College (50-11), and Olivier (10-2, 4.26 ERA) will get the opportunity to end that jinx when he starts against the fourth-ranked Roughriders in the second of two games Friday.
Delgado plays unranked Seminole State at noon at Crowder’s home park in Neosho, Missouri, before coming right back and facing Crowder. Crowder then plays Seminole State. If all three go 1-1, a coin flip will give one of them a bye while the other two play Saturday for the second spot in Sunday’s championship game. If one team goes 2-0 on Friday, the 1-1 team would have to win twice in a row in the championship round to qualify for the World Series.
“Our program has reached the point where the expectations are Grand Junction or bust,” Scheuermann said. “Some people just want to have winning seasons. I consider if we don’t get to Grand Junction, shame on us.”
Without Olivier, Delgado ran out of pitching when it hosted the South Central district championship a year ago and lost to Crowder 9-1 in a painful deciding game. He is coming off a complete-game 12-strikeout performance against Nunez when he allowed only one earned run.
His motivation is huge.
“The last two years I was a spectator,” he said. “Not being on the field with the guys hurt to some degree, but at the end of the day, I knew my time was coming. I knew this year was going to be really big for all of us, and I knew we were going to make something happen.”
Olivier tore his ulnar collateral ligament in early April 2021, realizing the seriousness of the injury when he could not open a door at his hotel with his right hand after getting hurt. An MRI confirmed his worst fears, leading to surgery two weeks later.
The recovery took nearly 16 months. He said he finally felt comfortable again pitching at the end of summer ball in August. He has thrown more innings (67⅔) than anyone on the team but fellow ace Carson Lore (68⅔).
“To some degree, I have more control and feel of my arm than before, and the (velocity) is definitely there,” Olivier said. “I don’t have any arm problems now. I take care of my body and do what I need to do. There’s no stress.”
Delgado felt plenty of stress punching its ticket to Neosho, winning by one run in walk-off fashion three straight times vs. conference opponents BRCC and Nunez after going 14-0 against them during the regular season. Josh Alexander, who leads the team with 10 home runs and 58 RBIs, provided the final blow with a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 4-3 victory against BRCC.
“I wasn’t a very good coach last week,” Scheuermann said. “When you’re expected to win, you kind of get a little tight, and my tightness was reflected in our club. This time it’s a situation we should thrive in. I’ll be a better coach and our players will be better players.”
Olivier, who expects similarly close games this weekend, cannot wait for his opportunity.
“Me and Carson (6-3, 3.54) need to go out there and do our thing because we’re the 1-2 punch,” he said. “If we are able to keep doing what we’ve done the whole season, we’ll be all right.”